Growing up with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic neuromuscular disease that affects all muscles of the body, can bring social challenges for anyone.  For Alice Wong, the challenges made her angry.  Rather than the anger becoming a negative impact on her adult life, she has been able to utilize it to fight for her rights and those of others with disabilities.

As she wrote in her essay Hey, Angry Girl, Alice faced a lot of attitudinal barriers while she was growing up in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Besides the usual stares and naïve questions from people, she also faced barriers in her education.  For instance, to complete her second year drama class, one of the requirements was to do a skit that required physical action.  The professor insisted it had to be done standing up, which Alice couldn’t do.  So she had to forego it.

Attending the University of California, Alice discovered ways to break down barriers that she had encountered during her youth and still was facing.  Works of disability activists and researchers such as Paul Longmore, Irving Zola, Erving Goffman, and others inspired Alice to express her ideas and voice her frustration through writing and research.  Her writings have helped people with disabilities to live as independent as possible.

For instance, Alice is the Staff Research Associate for the Community Policy Living Center at the University of California where she authors curricula for the College of Personal Assistance and Caregiving and producing reports on Olmstead-related legislation and lawsuits.  In fact, Alice is the co-author of several online courses on personal assistance care, which can be found at Direct Course Online.  She’s also the founder of the Facebook group “Self-Directed Care Discussion Group”, where members can voice their concerns and ask questions about personal assistance issues.

Besides personal care assistance, Alice also has motivated other persons with disabilities to make their voices heard.  She has launched the Disability Visibility Project, a blog-like platform so persons with disabilities can write about their challenges and successes.  These stories make our voices heard, act as a historical resource, and illustrate their diversity.  As with the Facebook personal assistance group, she also utilizes Twitter to encourage them to discuss issues that concerns the disability community.  Hopefully, agency or government officials notice these discussions and act upon what needs to be done to ensure our basic rights as humans.

Alice also promotes social media accessibility as a council member of the National Council of Disability (NCD).  In 2014, she co-moderated a series of online dialogues to discuss how social media platforms can become more accessible, such as users adding text alternatives to images and including correct captions for videos.   “{O}ne of my advocacy efforts is through community-building efforts on social media such as Facebook and Twitter,” Alice says. “I’ve come across some amazing people with disabilities all over the world and we share our experiences that seem to be universal.”

As an avid advocate for persons with disabilities, Alice offers three bits of advice.  First, don’t consider yourself the problem.  Society creates most of the barriers that you need to overcome.  Second, reach out to other persons with disabilities who have experienced similar situations that you do for guidance and mentoring.  Third, share your struggles and successes with others who may need help.

Alice turned her anger as a little girl into something positive as a woman—her passion and desire to help others with disabilities.

Follow Alice on Twitter at @SFdirewolf.

My name is Kevin Ruh and I support the United Nations “HeForShe” campaign. I hope other men will join this conversation and show women that we support their rights to not be seen only as sexual objects. I believe that men are evolving. We need to raise our voices and show our support of women.

I was raised by a strong mother (Debra Ruh) and have a wonderful sister (Sara Ruh) born with Down syndrome. I am also proud to be in a committed relationship with another strong woman (Emily Ha).

I have seen men treat women as sexual objects or inferior beings – the weaker sex syndrome. It has always annoyed and angered me. I have debated this topic with many male friends and pondered what can be done to stop the violence. Men should never be violent for any reason. If you are in a bad relationship – step away – violence is never the answer. Women should be allowed to dress, walk, or act any way that they choose without fear of men preying upon them.
To make this situation even worse women with disabilities are often victims of violence and the statistics are very troubling. According to the National Rape Response Service:

U.S. National studies estimate that almost 80% of people with disabilities are sexually assaulted on more than one occasion and 50% of those experienced more than 10 victimizations.

Women with disabilities are raped and abused at a rate at least twice that of the general population of women.

Among adults who are developmentally disabled, as many as 83% of the females and 32% of the males are victims of sexual assault.

Source: www.MECASA.org

We must stop the senseless violence against women and people with disabilities.
I was intrigued by Emma Watson’s speech on this topic at the United Nations. Emma Watson is a household name for most. Her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies is where I was first introduced to this talented actor. She has gone on to do over fifteen films during her acting career.
More importantly though, are her efforts to help the human race. She has done a lot to help women’s rights over the years. Promoting the education of women is a huge issue. Watson has traveled the world to places like Zambia and Bangladesh to promote her views and aid the women’s rights movement. She believes in equality regardless of gender, I wholeheartedly agree with this and also believe it is a critical issue.
Watson was appointed the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador in July this year. In September she delivered an address that launched a new UN Women campaign called “HeForShe”. It is a program that asks for men to advocate for gender equality. Watson notes that it is impossible to see a change in the violence if only one side is advocating equality.

She is right – often this is a conversation being held by mostly women. It is time for men to join the conversation. We need to teach boys of all ages that a “Real Man” does not hurt anyone. Emma Watson’s efforts are being applauded globally.
Many Hollywood stars are self-proclaimed “feminists” and are often scrutinized for not practicing what they preach. Emma Watson is the image of a feminist who says equality is for all.Find out more about the “HeForShe” campaign here: www.HeForShe.org
I hope my brothers join me in my efforts to support women. Many of us are evolved and we need to stand with women and stop the violence. I challenge other men and parents raising sons to stand with me. It is Time to STOP the ABUSE.

Pic Source: http://www.eonline.com/news/581799/emma-watson-s-heforshe-gender-equality-campaign-gains-major-traction-in-hollywood